I filed out of exit 30 about five minutes ago.
And god — there's a crowd of about 100 people outside with me, on some giant lawn. The stadium looms behind us, ginormous.
From what I can see, we're on campus of Horizon Academy. It looks almost like a small city. There's glass skyscrapers ahead of us, and a paved path which continues around my field of view. The arena is placed within a large park in the middle of campus.
I also see a large and grand modern building to my left, there's an ornate gateway — leading to the entrance. But it's too far for me to make out any words, or see further.
Groups of new cadets are spread across the field, about 10 meters of spacing between each group. We seem to have been split up into 20 groups over 2000 cadets, which means 100 cadets per group which are determined by ranking.
And I'm in the last group. The worst one, in terms of strength. All thanks to me being 2000th place in the rankings.
A man walks in front of our group, a professor, if I had to guess. He has round-framed glasses, a youthful face, and short blonde hair.
"Hello, cadets. I'm here to give you your schedules, and dormitory assignments. My name is James Hale, History of Magic professor." The man, James, does a bow and then smiles politely.
"You all submitted your choices for electives two weeks ago, and we did our best to accommodate them. However, there may be some classes you did not get." James says, in a practiced manner, fiddling with something on his smart watch.
"Talk to the teacher, and we'll see what we can do. Anyways, the schedules should be on your watches now."
A hologram of a timetable springs out of my watch. It's just like in the sci-fi movies I used to watch, Star Wars-esque. A feeling of nostalgia and longing hits me at the thought. I'm never going back to Earth now by the looks of it… I'll miss Mcdonalds.
I take a deep breath, calming my nerves. There's nothing back there for me anyways. No one to miss me.
I admire the hologram for a moment longer before I start reading.
[SCHEDULE FOR DORIAN HAWTHORNE, 2000TH RANK]
8:00-9:00
Mana control and usage [Lecture hall A-101]
9:05-10:05
Physical combat training [Training field 1]
10:10-11:10
Magical combat training [Training field 2]
11:15-12:15
History of magic and the world [Lecture hall A-201]
12:20-1:20
Advanced dungeon mechanics [Lecture hall A-304]
1:25-2:25
Beast hunting and anatomy [Lecture hall C-207]
2:30-3:30
Specialized elemental spell casting [Training field 4]
[END OF SCHEDULE]
They really like shoving my rank in my face, don't they? I sigh. And this schedule is totally packed — but its manageable.
Most of the classes seem self-explorary to me. I'm confused on what exactly dungeons are — and I can guess that 'beast hunting' means that monsters are a real thing. Like a fantasy novel.
I look back up from the projection, and see huddles of groups, sharing their schedules with one another. I'm alone. No one wants to be friends with the 2000th ranker who is a failure.
I end up sitting down on the grassy field, silently, as I watch friendships being formed. It's depressing, sure, but it's strange for me (a man technically in his late twenties, mentally,) to start chatting up students who are barely twenty. And they don't even want to be associated with me.
Professor Hale claps his hands once to get everyone's attention. If this were the universities I'm used to, it probably would've failed, but everyone snaps to attention like an army. Maybe sitting down was a sign of disrespect.. I get up.
"As for your dormitories, that will also be sent to you. Just click on the new notification you should have received."
In unison, there's a ding coming from everyone's watch.
[DORM BUILDING: BOREALIS]
Room 1201
I have no idea if my building is a good thing or a bad thing. 1201 should mean on the twelfth floor.. my gaze flicks back to the skyscrapers. Maybe those are the dorms. The infrastructure here is fancy enough to support it. This school has a whole stadium after all.
A new hologram replaces my schedule. It is a map, with a pulsing dot as the destination. I can assume that's my dorm building.
There's a multitude of reactions from the students around me, ranging from groans to a "Yes!"
"The rest of the day is free for your use. You may get to know other students, or use the training facilities, or simply rest," James concludes, waving a hand. "Enjoy your day off, because at Horizon Academy no day will be easy. Now off you go." He sounds like he's already tired of being a teacher on the first day.
At the same time, all the other groups of students start dispersing as well.
My eyebrows scrunch as I figure out my watch, pulling up a general map of the academy, and set my destination for the library.
I'm getting all the answers now.
—
4 hours later, at 6pm
Horizon Academy Library
I'm surrounded by piles and piles of various textbooks, as I struggle to comprehend Advanced Scientific Mana Theories.
The library is vast, with towering bookshelves overflowing with books. I picked a stack of books that seemed relevant to the world, sat down at one of the desks, and read for hours on end.
The place is currently quite empty, as it's not even the first day of school yet. Most normal cadets are out, trying to make the last of their days before the gruelling curriculum starts.
But finally I can say that I understand this world now.
Hunters are magical beings who wield powers. Affinities reference what kind of power a Hunter possesses. Your "potential" is essentially what solidified your rank in this world. The potential rank you have is set, and once you reach it, you top out.
The ranking system goes like this:
E Rank
F rank
D Rank
C Rank
B Rank
A Rank
S Rank
SS Rank
SSS Rank
So, the Evelyn girl, who is SSS rank — I learned that she is the only one. She's on a total other level. And her younger brother is Caspian — just like I heard.
As for skills, they're ranked the same way Hunters are. The only way to get them is through 'Tomes', one-time usage manuals that bestow a skill onto you. They cost insane prices.
Horizon Academy is the most prestigious school in Avalarch Kingdom — and it's true that Dorian Hawthorne's family is the founding one. A fact I can't fully wrap my head around.
Dungeons are where monsters spawn, and dungeon gates are how you enter them..
Among many other smaller mechanics.
Thanks to the boost to my stats I got from the innate ability Salvator gave me, comprehending all this new information wasn't too hard. But even now, my mind is feeling fatigued. I grunt, and close the book.
"Open system." The opposite of close system, which is what I tapped to close the strange interface I have. It should work, in theory.
[System]
Name: Dorian Hawthorne
Rank: D tier Hunter [Potential: Unknown, former potential: C tier]
Progression: [————70%——]
Affinities: Lightning [One more, unknown]
Abilities:
Skill: Copy + Paste [SSS+]
Recharge [B]
Enhance [C]
Blessing of the Gods {Innate, Evolving} [A]
Stats:
Strength: 35
Intelligence: 31
Stamina: 35
Agility: 37
Health: 30
[Open Inventory]
[Close System]
—
Okay, so it does work. And.. my intelligence increased by one? That seems fast. Maybe it's because of the sheer amount of brand new information I digested. It probably won't be so quick the next time.
I'm also pretty sure I'm the only one with this unique system thing, as there's no mention of it in any of the textbooks I read.
I pause, sensing someone nearby, with some sort of alien-tingle like reflex. Quickly pressing close system, I turn my head, and see.. Aleyna Delacroix? The same one who is Top 2 in the entire school? She's in the doorway of the 'Quiet Reading Area'.
My confusion most show, because she is looking mildly annoyed and surprised. Her dark eyebrows are drawn together, pink lips tilted downwards, and a pale hand runs through the length of her black hair.
"I thought I would be alone here," she states, neutrally, and takes a seat as far away from me as possible. Her glacial eyes trail over the mass of books I have. She doesn't remark on it though, glancing back to the single book she carries.
I contemplate a response, fingers tapping on the cover of my textbook rhythmically. "Sorry," I reply curtly, and then pick up my books. I was going to leave anyways.
Despite how thick each textbook is, I find my tower of twenty easy to carry. Once again, thanks to my 'Blessing of the gods' ability, boosting my strength. It's a lot more useful than it looked in the first place.
Aleyna pauses, and looks at me. "You don't have to leave because of me." The words would have been warm and kind, if not for her unbothered and cold voice. She doesn't deign to hear my reply, averting her gaze back to the pages of her book.
"I was going to go anyways," I shrug, wave a brief goodbye, and then walk out. That was just a chance encounter, I guess. No way I make contact with the elites again until I can get my game together.
After dropping off my books in a 'drop-off' cart, I set my watch to the Borealis Dormitory Building, and follow the directions. Every path on campus is beautiful, with lush greenery, every bush and tree gardenscaped to perfection.
It makes sense, considering this is a school for the best of the best. Dorian Hawthorne only scraped in through nepotism. It makes me wonder if I got any other benefits now just because of my family — or if my weak reputation outweighs that.
A ten minute walk later, and I'm in front of a shiny, glistening skyscraper — in a neighborhood of high rises. After researching the Academy, it's also famous for the state of the art facilities, including housing. Each student gets a personal room. The name, 'BOREALIS' is in large, bold, metal letters in front of the building.
I walk into the lobby — which is glamorous. Marble floors, a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, leather couches, all things I never experienced before.
I attempt a confident walk towards the elevators, and slip into the closest one. I press the twelfth floor, and ride up. There's no students in the elevator with me, but there were a few in the Lobby.
The elevator doors slide open, and I follow directions to what is supposed to be my new home. A large wooden door, with the numbers 1201 on the front. There's a pad above the doorknob where I tap my watch to.
A green light flickers on, and the door clicks unlocked.
It opens to a medium sized room, with basic amenities. There's a large floor-to-ceiling window letting in lots of natural light, a bed in the corner of the room with a night stand, and a couch.
The barebones look is probably because I'm in 2000th place. The best rooms are reserved for all the actually skilled people.
But right now, I don't really care. I'm tired after getting thrown into a new world, then studying for hours. All I want is sleep, and at least there's a bed.
I crash onto it and pass out in a matter of moments.